Christianity in North-East India and Its Impacts.
Introduction
1. Serampore Mission
2. American Baptist Mission
3. The Welsh Presbyterian Mission
4. The Anglican and the Lutherans
5. The Roman Catholics
6. Christianity contributions and Its Impacts towards North East India Society
6.1. Cultural Integration
6.2 Education and Literature
6.3 Humanitarian Services
Conclusion
Bibliography
1
Introduction
The Christian movement in North East India had grown to a great strength from a humble
beginning amidst many challenges. Christianity had played a major role in various aspects of
life of the hills and the plains people of the region. The earliest known Christian community
in North East India were the Catholics in Assam in the 17th and 18th century. 1 But this
community did not seem to spread nor perpetuate. The history of Christianity in the North
East that began with more permanency was in the 19th century. The discussion will be on the
major denominations which operated in the region, and the role of Christianity in social
changes among the peoples of the region.
1. The Serampore Mission
The earliest 19th century missionary contact in the North East was shown by the Baptists of
Serampore in Cherrapunji of Meghalaya. In 1813 Krishna Chandra Pal, after spending some
months at Cherrapunji, baptized 7 persons. 2 But this mission was short lived due to Pal’s
departure and it is unknown whether the baptized had lapsed. It led however to the inclusion
of the Khasi language in Bible translation employing Bengali script.
In 1829, the Serampore mission opened a school in Assam. They had been encouraged by
David Scott, the commissioner of Assam who also sent them the first students. In addition to
running the school some evangelistic work was attempted in the surrounding area of Lower
Assam but without success. But this had to be discontinued due to difficulties and the work
was turned over to the American Baptists.
Work among the Khasis was resumed in 1832. The missionary, Alexander Lish, opened
schools at Cherrapunji, Mawsmai and Mawmluh and made a beginning in the development of
Khasi literature. This had to be closed in a short period. But its contribution was that one of
Lish’s pupils later became a translator working with the Welsh mission.
2. American Baptist Mission
1
F. S. Downs, History of Christianity In India Vol. 5 (Bangalore: CHAI, 2003), 64.
2
Downs, History, 66.
2
The American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (ABFMS) sent missionaries and sponsored
the mission activities in India and other parts of the world. The attention of the American
Baptists was actually Northern Burma and Southern China, but due to a turn of events the
focus changed to the plains of Assam. By 1841 the first Asamese convert was baptized and
by 1845 “stations had been established in Sibsagar, Nagoan and Guwahati.”3 Schools were
opened at every new station established, the most important of these was the Orphan
Institution at Nagoan which served both as an orphanage and school. Yet the work showed
uncertainty due to challenges like illnesses and other factors.
By the second half of the nineteenth century the first real breakthrough in the history of the
mission came with the beginning of the work among the Garos in the 1860s. Interestingly this
work was begun by Garos – not by missionaries. Two students of the government school in
Goalpara were converted and baptized. They started a school and the first Christian village.
Omed, one of the students, was later ordained and assisted in the Baptisms of the Garo
converts when Bronson the American Baptist missionary visited the area in 1867. This made
Omed not only the first person in the North East to be ordained, but also he was the first to
baptize others. 4 The growth of Christianity among the Garos was phenomenal.
Another area in which the American Baptists began work during this period that showed little
promise at the time but which was later to become a major centre of Christian movement was
in the Naga hills. The real beginnings of Christian work among the Nagas dated from the visit
of Godhula Babu, an Assamese evangelist out of Sibsagar, to the Ao hills in 1871.5 By 1876
E. W. Clark moved to the hills. Molung, which remained the centre of mission operations in
Nagaland until almost the end of the century, was the first mission station in the North East
that was not also a government station. Despite the promising beginnings at Molung the early
Christian community fell on bad times and was only starting to recover at the end of the
century.
During the period of the First World War significant growth began to take place in Nagaland
among the members of the Ao tribe. Towards the end of the nineteenth century there was a
refreshed and more effective evangelistic effort. There was a significant growth in the Ao
Christian community. By this time the mission had been moved to Mokokchung. This
became an important educational centre, as a training school that provided leadership for
3
Downs, History, 70.
4
Downs, History, 79.
5
Downs, History, 82.
3
churches and Christian schools throughout the northern part of Nagaland. By the turn of the
century a greater interest in education developed and the Christians were much more
conscious of the distinctive requirements of their new faith, including the obligation to
evangelize not only their fellow Aos but also the neighbouring tribes. By the time of
Independence significant growth of the Christian community among the other tribes of
Nagaland like the Semas, Angami and Konyaks took place.
The work in Manipur began with Pettigrew starting a school at Imphal the capital, in 1894.
But due to the fear that it could disrupt the dominant Hindu community, the political agent
put a halt to the school. But Pettigrew was able to work in the hill areas with his residence at
Ukhrul. At this point Pettigrew resigned from the Arthington mission to join the American
Baptist and the mission was also transferred. His evangelistic work was limited to the hills.
Despite this severe limitation placed upon the missionary activity, a large Christian
community was to come into existence in Manipur during the twentieth century. During the
First World War, in Manipur the effort to forcefully recruit Kukis for Labour Corps led to a
revolt. After its failure large numbers of Kukis began to become Christian. Ten years later
another revolt of the Zeliangrong Nagas had a similar result. A movement to Christianity
which had begun in 1921 was given added impetus by the Manipur Revival of 1923-24.
The rapid growth of Christianity in Manipur certainly cannot be attributed to large-scale
foreign missionary operations. As elsewhere in the North East, Christianity was propagated
by the people of the area themselves – or by Indians from other parts of the country.
3. The Welsh Presbyterian Mission
The Welsh Presbyterian came to North East India when the Khasi Hills was suggested by
Jacob Tomlin, a former London missionary who had spent nine months in those hills during
1837. Missionary Thomas Jones and his wife arrived at Cherrapunji, the rainiest inhabited
place on earth on 2nd June 1841. By 1846 the first Khasi converts were baptized. Downs took
this to be the first church established in the North East.6 Though the work picked up a slow
pace, solid foundations were being laid for later growth in the development of an educational
system and a church organization. In the next two decades, by the 1860s, many villages had
village schools.7 The grant provided by the government gave official status to the educational
work of the mission. This turned the school at Nongsawlia into a teacher’s training school in
6
Downs, History, 72.
7
Downs, History, 74.
4
1867. Another important impact of this was that as the strength of the local qualified teachers
grew so also evangelization. This may not be the only factor but it surely is an important
element. Medical mission was an important development of this period. In 1878, Dr Griffiths
opened a small dispensary at Mawphlang. This was transferred to Sohra. Eventually it was
shifted to Shillong where it gained permanency till date as the Khasi-Jaintia Presbyterian
Hospital. Medical stations were also set up in the Jaintia hills. Thus by the end of the century
the Welsh Presbyterian mission among the Khasis and Jaintias was well established with a
rapidly growing Christian community solidly based on an extensive educational system and a
having a comprehensive church structure.
Missionaries about this time have just begun to work among the Mizos, but the large Mizo
Christian movement that was eventually to surpass in size to that of the Khasi-Jaintia area
had not yet started. The first missionaries who lived among the Mizos were J. Herbert Lorrain
and F.W. Savidge, who made their way to Aizawl in 1894. However, permanent work began
with the arrival of the first Welsh Presbyterian missionary, D.E. Jones, at Aizawl in 1897. In
1898 he opened a school in his own veranda and by the early 1908 a school was developed
that catered to villages around Aizawl. 8 By this time the government had handed over the
responsibility of the village schools to the missionaries. In summer of 1899 the first two Mizo
Christians were baptized, but it was another seven years before significant numbers began to
join the movement. In 1909 with medical missionary Dr. Fraser medical work began.9 By
1910 a proper building for a clinic was acquired. But the work also included travelling to
villages to administer treatment. The area in which Christianity grew most rapidly at the
beginning of the twentieth century was Mizoram. Within the first three decades of the
century, the church in northern Mizoram alone was already larger than its sister church in the
Khasi-Jaintia area. The rapid growth in Mizoram is attributed to a series of revival
movements. The revivals resulted intense evangelistic activities.
4. The Anglicans and the Lutherans
The Anglicans did not have missionaries as such in the North East. They did have a few
regular chaplains appointed to look after the spiritual needs of the European members of their
denomination. The first chaplain, Robert Brand, took up residence in Guwahati in 1844. The
Church of England also had chaplains supported jointly by the SPG and the tea companies for
8
J. M. Lloyd, History of the Church in Mizoram: Harvest in the Hills (Aizawl: Synod Publication
Board, 1991), 42-64.
9
Lloyd, History, 125.
5
the benefit of the tea planters. Both types of chaplains became involved in some missionary
work, mainly but not entirely among the tea garden workers. The first of the tea garden
chaplains, Sydney Endle, arrived in Tezpur in 1864. A mission started by Capt. Gordon
among the Kacharis was taken over by the Anglicans in 1847-48. A number of schools were
established including a teachers’ training school at Tezpur. The mission soon faced serious
difficulties and it was taken over by the SPG. The New Testament in the Kachari language, a
major anthropological study and several literary works on the Kachari folklores, songs and
customs were produced by Endle.
During the 1870s the Lutheran Santhal Mission of Bengal established a colony in Goalpara
district. There was a highly successful self-support scheme based upon a tea garden and other
commercial operations. Though the neighbouring Bodos were evangelized, the primary
relationships of this community were with the churches in Bengal rather than with other
groups in Assam. The Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chota Nagpur also followed
its members to the Assam tea gardens and organized them into churches.
5. The Roman Catholics
Roman Catholic interest in the North East was associated with their failure to reach Tibet.
Due to this halt they reached out to Catholic groups found in the Assam Valley and parts of
Arunachal Pradesh. Fr. Nicholas Michael Krick’s writings about the people of Arunachal are
among the earliest accounts of these people. Following his death, more European priests
arrived but not much mission work was done. The first Catholic priest, Fr. Jacopo Broy,
assigned specifically for Assam arrived at Guwahati in 1872. Even though he wanted to begin
work in Shillong he was limited to pastoral work in Assam plains due to a clash in
ecclesiastical jurisdiction.10 Catholic missionary work properly took off from the arrival of
the Salvatorians in Shillong in 1890. By 1891 the first Catholic was baptized and the
following year a station was opened at Jaintia hills. Work had also been started among the
Chota Nagpuris and other tribals imported from various parts of India working in the tea
gardens of Upper Assam. Nevertheless, the total number of Catholics in the North East was
very small in 1900.
Initially the response was better in the plains rather than in the hills. But beginnings had been
made there in what was to become highly influential educational work. In 1907 an industrial
10
Reorganization of territory – 1870 Assam & Bhutan under the Foreign Missionaries of Milan
(PIME), cited by Downs, History, 91.
6
school was started and the following year St. Anthony’s, later to become one of the best
colleges in the region, was opened. In 1913 Salvatorian nuns opened a girl’s school in
Shillong as well as a convent for sisters at Guwahati.11
But as Salvatorians were a German order, who were suspected by the British government
during World War I, they were eventually deported. Work was later entrusted to the
Salesians of Don Bosco. On January 1922, eleven missionaries under Fr Louis Matthias
landed in Shillong. They established new stations and resumed work in the Assam plains. In
1923 the Salesian sisters sent their first missionary to work in Guwahati among the orphans.
The Salesians made remarkable progress and growth. “Within ten years there were 121
Salesian missionaries or theological students assisting the missionaries, by far the largest
number of any mission working in the North East at that time.” 12 A significant post-war
development of the Roman Catholic Church was its expansion. The emphasis upon education
among Roman Catholics in the North East was their cutting edge of this new expansion. The
growth of Catholic educational institutions in the North East was and continues to be rapid.
“Whereas in 1954 that church was running 591 primary schools, 65 middle and high schools,
and 3 colleges, by 1990 there were more than 1,300educational institutions.” 13
6. Christianity contributions and Its Impacts towards North East India Society
Christianity has contributed significantly to the lives of the people of North East India. The
primary agent that brought social change was the British rule. The movement of Christianity
did affect the education, literature, medicine and even culture in the lives of the people. And
the social impact of Christianity was seen even in areas with low response to conversion like
the Assam plains. Evidently Christianity was part of the change. But Christianity has in fact
helped the people to adjust to the change. “Christianity was not so much a primary agent of
change as an agent of acculturation”14
6.1. Cultural Integration: Christianity in most places came during colonization.
Thus there is always a tendency to accuse Christianity of Westernization of the tribes of
North East India. This is usually done so based on the western instead of the cultural attire
used by the people. However, this needs further discussions for this is a weak argument.
11
Downs, History,104.
12
Karotemprel, S. “Salesians Contribution to Evangelization in North East India: An Evaluation”, a
paper read at the All India Symposium on Salesian Mission in India, 1-5 Oct, 1982, Vendrame Missiological
Institute, Sacred Heart Theological College, Shillong, cited by Downs, History, 106.
13
Statistics based on the Catholic Directory Of India, 1990, cited by Downs, History, 121.
14
Downs, History,144.
7
Much of the old customs were still retained by the Christian community of the North East.
They have retained their cultural psyche and many cultural practices. A significant aspect of
the Mizo revival movement was its contribution to the indigenization of Christianity. The
cultural drums and beats were earlier associated with merry making and drinking. These were
prohibited in earlier missionary contact. But the revival brought back such cultural aspects
into the church as an important part of worship. Worship in most parts of the North East had
been indigenized from an early date with the inclusion of local languages and forms. There
was a strict restriction of travelling during Sundays especially in the earlier times. This
seemed to be an influence of observing genna or taboo days in traditional culture. Burials of
the dead also still have many aspects of traditional practices. It is a common sight to see
instruments or belongings of the dead person buried alongside the coffin. Even in marriage,
an important life event, it can be seen that the indigenous Christians of North East India hold
on to many cultural norms and practices. Even though the wedding ceremony involves
Christian way of worship, yet avoidance of cultural taboo and many elements related with
marriage is still cultural. The tribes of North East India had a habit of hosting community
feasts. Some were merit feasts. The Christmas feasts seemed to have replaced such feasts.
But yet there are instances where a family will hold a community feast and invite even non-
Christian relatives.
Yet on the other hand to say that their old world view had not changed based on the holding
of old customs is also folly. The tribal lived in a psyche of fear of the spirits. Christianity has
brought a liberative aspect in this area. The release from the fear of animistic spirits and the
expensive sacrifices and merit feasts has allowed the indigenous Christians to enjoy a
liberated life. This has brought better communication and interaction between tribes who
earlier had limited or even suspicious interactions. During 1911-12 bamboo famine in
Mizoram a drastic change was seen when Christians in prosperous villages were willing to
share their food stock. In earlier times there would even be killing to defend one’s stock of
food. The change was noted even by non-Christians that it was a result of the influence of the
gospel.
6.2. Education and Literature: Protestantism has always opted for inclusion of the
local language in worship and the translation of the Bible. In many hill tribal situations the
missionaries have brought about great change by the invention of alphabets. Most of these
tribals, unlike the plains people of Assam, either do not have scripts or lost them as their tales
showed. Usually the missionaries began with the translation of the Bible and some basic local
8
dialect literary works. The missionaries simply employed the dialect in the area of the
mission station and reduced it to writing. This ended dialectical rifts among tribes and made
one of the dialects as a lingua franca. Thus came about the usage of the awe of the northern
Garos to the Garos, the Sohra for the Khasis, the Ukhrul for the Tangkhuls, the Chongli for
the Aos, the Tlosai for the Maras, the Duhlian dialect for the Mizos. This created linguistic
unity among tribes who earlier had dialects unintelligible to one another. This in turn created
a sense of tribal solidarity.
Higher quality education in the hills of North East is credited to Christian mmissions
especially Roman Catholics. The high demand of higher quality English education could not
be sufficed by government initiatives. Thus the reality was that the Roman Catholics took this
venture up in the fore front. Education has empowered the lives of the land locked people
who in earlier days had rare contact with the outside world. Since the early days education
has raised many thinkers who contributed to the preservation of cultural identity. Education
had made many of these hills people compatible and competent in the modern global
scenario. The education of women brought upliftment of women in social fields. In many
instances of traditional cultures the women were considered of inferior status. Even among
the matrilineal Khasis the women were forbade from many social responsibilities and events.
Education did not totally change the traditional culture, but it brought empowerment and
freedom to women to assume prominent roles in education and other professional fields.
Education also to a great extent enhanced the economy of the tribals by qualifying them to
compete with the already learned plains people especially in the area of government jobs and
other professions.
6.3. Humanitarian Services: Even though the hills were much healthier than the
plains, yet disease was widespread and common when the missionaries landed in North East
India. Modern medicines and facilities were absent. Cholera, malaria and kala-azar were
major diseases encountered. For this need, the missionaries equipped themselves with
elementary knowledge of medical science and first aid. The Welsh missionaries undertook a
year’s training in medicine before coming to India in programmes specifically designed for
15
the purpose. The need was great to such an extent that missionaries without medical
qualification had to administer medicines to the people. Missionaries like A. C. Bowers, S. A.
D. Boggs, Pettigrew & Reginald and Maud Lorrain involved treating many people in their
15
Downs, History,177.
9
mission fields.16 “The missionaries began to give medical treatment simply because they were
moved by the plight of those suffering around them, rather than as a calculated means for
getting their attention for preaching purposes.”17 Another aspect not to be neglected was the
18
teaching of cleanliness, more hygienic houses and healthier food. This has contributed to
the general better health care in the lives of the people. Christian missionaries have even
influenced the modification of house designs. This led to cleaner and healthier living quarters
contributing to the health of the people. In many villages where a station is established the
houses were builded with enough space in between. This provided ample ventilation and safe
guard against fire. Other humanitarian services that the Christian movement also undertook
were orphanages and relief works.
Such humanitarian services gave a practical outward expression of the new world view
brought by the gospel. More so, such services encouraged the indigenous tribes to transcend
narrow customary or cultural barriers of family, clan and tribes. 19
Conclusion
In the light of what the Christian movement in North East India had contributed to the region
the call for the church today is to evaluate itself. The missionaries have handed the leadership
to the indigenous peoples. Yet it seemed more that in the present leadership no significant
step had been taken, apart of maintaining status quo. The indigenous leadership should move
to relevant paradigms of strategies instead of becoming redundant. Humanitarian services like
medicine, education and relief in the region were endeavours pioneered by Christian mission
workers. But as of today, apart from the Roman Catholic Church, very less is being done by
the church even though it had spread far and wide and gained so much strength especially in
the hills. Such services will benefit the society in general especially for the lower economic
strata. In many established churches the expressions of faith in worship still need
indigenization. This will make worship more vibrant and relevant to the lives of the people.
As seen earlier, education and literature had come to be a uniting force in tribal solidarity in
the region. Yet sadly though, denominationalism had brought a new form of tribalism that
had divided the people. The formation of the NEICC in 1962 was a great ecumenical step that
16
Downs, History,177.
17
Downs, History,181.
18
O.L. Snaitang, Christianity and Social Change in North East India (Shillong: Vendrame Institute,
1993),166
19
Downs, History,182-83.
10
led to many cooperative efforts. Yet the denominational spirit within the people still needs to
be changed.
The said steps are not unrealistic or unachievable goals for the church in North East India
considering its magnitude and strength. Much more could be achieved if the effort is a
cooperative concerted effort.
Bibliography
Books
Ao, A.B. History of Christianity in Nagaland: A Source Material. Mokukchung: Shalom
Ministry, 1988.
Downs, F. S. History of Christianity In India: North East India in the 19th & 20th Centuries.
Vol.V, Part 5. Bangalore: CHAI, 2003.
Firth, C. B.An Introduction to Indian Church History. New Delhi: ISPCK, 2013.
Forell, George, W. The Protestant Faith. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1960.
Ingleby, J.C. Missionaries, Education and India. New Delhi: ISPCK, 2011.
Lloyd, J.M. History of the Church in Mizoram. Aizawl: Synod Pub Board, 1991.
Rao, O.M. Among the Churches of the Hills and Valleys of North East India. New Delhi:
ISPCK, 2005.
Snaitang, O.L. Christianity and Social Change in North East India. Shillong: Vendrame
Institute, 1993.
Talibuddin, Ernest W. The Anglican Church In North-East India (1845-1970). New Delhi:
ISPCK, 2002.
Journals and Articles
Snaitang, O.L. “Christianity as Social Transformation in North East India.” In Missiology for
the 21st Century. Edited by Hedlund, R. E. & Bhakiaraj, P.J. New Delhi: ISPCK, 2004.
Downs, F. S. “Christianity and Socio-Cultural Change in the Hill Areas of North East India”.
ICHR.Vol 26.No.1. June 1992. 50-62.
Downs, F. S. “Early Christian Contacts with North East India”. ICHR.Vol 5. June 1971. 69-
77.
Downs, F. S. “Tribal Ecumenism in North East India: The Role in Solidarity Movement”.
ICHR.Vol 23.No.1. June 1989. 23-38.
J. N. Ekka. “Cultural Deterioration, A Threat to Identity”. Dharma Deepika. Vol. 12, No.1.
Jan-June 2008. 10-20.
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